The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily
bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into
temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13
Adoration Praying
Prayer
is often expressed regarding requests or petitions.
Today
we'll learn another way to pray - a prayer of adoration.
The
Lord's prayer in Matthew 6 will be given as an example -
concentrating
on its 5 points, using our 5 fingers as a model.
The
basis of prayer is to worship
through
growing our personal relationship.
By
giving God glory for who He is,
we
mature in what we know about who God is.
1.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed
be thy name.
God,
who is our personal Creator,
longs
to be our personal Father.
Our
Father...hallowed be Your name.
There
are many facets to God's name:
as
this verse reminds us, God is Holy.
His
ways are true and pure - always, only.
His
name is to be revered or worshiped,
not
taken in vain as commonly heard.
He
is our God Who Sees Us, our Healer,
Immanuel
or God With Us, our Provider,
our
Peace, our Rock,
our
Shepherd, our Hope.
Isaiah
uses these names for God:
Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God,
Prince
of Peace, Everlasting Father.
And
just think, God had a plan to become our Savior!
When
you pray, thank and praise God for His names.
Just
saying God's hallowed, holy names,
brings
blessed peace, assurance, and comfort
to
whatever causes turmoil or hurt.
How great is the love the
Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called
children of God!
And that is what we are!
I John 3:1
2.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy
will be done on earth,
as
it is in heaven.
Jesus
prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, "not my will, but thine be
done."
As
we mature in our faith journey, one of our daily prayers will become
a
prayer for God's will to prevail in our personal life.
Seeking
God's will will prevent much anxiety, angst, and strife.
When
we pray, we should pray that our desires or will,
including
our fickle emotions, line up with God's will.
Our
prayers should include thankfulness that God is in control
no
matter what daily burdens trouble the soul.
Our
God is in control
though
troubles may burden your soul
He
allows both major and minor
in
His perfect harmony... (Andre Crouch)
Thank
God that He knows what is best,
even
those times that feel like a test.
Those
are times when God is maturing you,
growing
your faith and developing trust too.
Many are the plans in a man's
heart,
but it is the Lord's purpose
that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21
3.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Thanking
God for our daily blessings is another reason to pray.
What
an honor to give God, the Creator, glory throughout the day.
The
Bible gives us many examples where people prayed and God answered.
The
Bible also contains verses that simply state, "Praise the Lord!"
Verses
of petition
and
verses of adoration.
May
our daily prayers be filled with praise and worship,
more
so than prayers of constant asking from our lips.
Thanking
God comes from a heart of gratitude.
Gratitude
greatly affects one's mood.
Others
will see our joy
which
thankful hearts employ.
Point
3 begins with "Give us."
God's
desire is to bless us.
One
way is through daily provisions.
Not
just our needs, but our wants are given.
We
expect others to say "thank you."
What
a privilege to tell God "thank you."
God
delights to hear from you.
He's
waiting to hear your view.
Counting
our blessings should be a continual dialog
as
we commune each day with our heavenly Father, God.
Our
first thought is the morning should be worship or praise
and
our last thought before sleep should be thanking God for our day.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food
at the proper time.
You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of
every living thing.
Psalm 145:15-16
4.
And forgive us our debts,
as
we forgive our debtors.
We
just learned to praise our giving God for our daily blessings.
Now
we'll learn to thank our compassionate God for His gift of forgiving.
When
we recall how God has forgiven us,
it
will make it easier to forgive and trust.
Point
4 states "forgive us" and "as we forgive."
No
one is immune, it means all of us who live.
All
of us need daily forgiveness.
Thankfully
God is a God of grace.
We
are to imitate Christ
by
becoming Christ-like.
That
means forgiving those who have knowingly and unknowingly wronged us.
It's
a matter of the heart, otherwise bitterness will consume us.
The
next verse right after the Lord's prayer talks about forgiveness.
Over
and over in the OT, God's people asked for forgiveness.
Because
God is abounding in love and compassionate,
He
graciously forgave each time His people asked.
When
was the last time you thanked God for forgiveness?
Or
His gifts of endless mercy and amazing grace?
Do
we find it easier to worry and complain
or
to offer a sacrifice of praise in Jesus name?
But you, O Lord, are a
compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in
love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15
For if you forgive men when
they sin against you,
your heavenly Father will also
forgive you.
Matthew 6:14
Let us continually offer to
God a sacrifice of praise -
the fruit of lips that confess
his name.
Hebrews 13:15
5.
And lead us not into temptation,
but
deliver us from evil.
Have
you ever thought to thank God for temptations?
Keep
on praising God will help you to overcome giving in.
A
temptation is an opportunity to prove our faithfulness.
Resist
that temptation through prayer, then watch how God will bless.
Remember
you are at war
with
the enemy of your soul.
God
has given you the arsenal needed to win.
Prayer
and God's Word will keep you from giving in.
Thank
God for His leading,
His
Holy Spirit within,
who
warns us of dangers
and
protects us from trouble.
Resist the devil, and he will
flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will
draw near to you.
James 4:7-8
In
conclusion, prayer should become a doxology of praise.
A
time to give God glory, for He is the Creator of all our days.
Prayer:
a time of worship,
to
grow in relationship.
For
thine is the kingdom,
and
the power, and the glory,
forever.
Amen.
For from him
and through him
and to him
are all things.
To him be the glory forever.
Amen.
Romans 11:36
Once
we learn the 5 points of adoration,
our
every breath will become appreciation
as
we daily grow in personal relationship -
developing
a lifestyle of an attitude of worship.
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his
benefits -
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the
pit
and crowns you with love and
compassion,
who satisfies your desires
with good things
so that your youth is renewed
like the eagles.
Psalm 103:2-5
You may attest after learning to pray prayers of adoration,
that God will multiply blessing upon blessing.
Datura
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